Reds' Luis Castillo to make big-league debut Friday

Reds lefty Amir Garrett turned in another short start for Reds pitchers, lasting just 3 2/3 innings in a 6-5 loss to the Rays.
The Enquirer/C. Trent Rosecrans

Jody Link/online@PNJ.com
Pensacola's Luis Castillo, seen here pitching against Jacksonville on June 1, went six innings and gave up two runs on five hits while fanning eight Thursday night.
Pensacola's Luis Castillo (26) pitches against the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp at Admiral Fetterman Field on Thursday, June 01, 2017.(Photo: Jody Link/online@PNJ.com, Jody Link/online@PNJ.com)

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Reds manager Bryan Price said the announcement of Luis Castillo as the starter for Friday’s game in Washington wasn’t intended as a message to other starters, but it could be a lesson.

“If you don’t throw strikes on a consistent basis, you’ll never know if the stuff is good enough to compete here,” Price said. “That has a to be a rock bottom minimum requirement to throw strikes.”

Castillo, who will be making his big-league debut in Friday’s series opener against the Nationals, has always had the stuff to compete. The stuff is why the Reds traded Dan Straily to the Marlins in the deal that brought them the 24-year-old right-hander as well as reliever Austin Brice and another minor-league player.

It’s what Castillo has done with Double-A Pensacola that has earned him this opportunity — or maybe more importantly, what he hasn’t done. Castillo has just 1.5 walks per nine innings this season and over his last 10 starts, he has 60 strikeouts to 10 walks (covering 56 innings). He was 4-4 with a 2.58 ERA for the Blue Wahoos.

“He's throwing good stuff, he's throwing strikes. You know, that's really what we need,” Reds manager Bryan Price said. “That doesn't mean that's how it's going to translate here, it can be even better in the big leagues than he's been in Double-A with a big-league defense behind him on a big-league field. What's jumping off the page is not just the ERA, which is nice, but it's the fact that he's commanding the strike zone. He's throwing three pitches over.”

Castillo impressed in spring training, hitting 100 mph with his fastball and showing an excellent changeup. The Reds had him ditch his curveball in exchange for a slider and he’s seen positive results with that pitch.

Price said it wasn’t necessarily a message to right-hander Robert Stephenson and left-hand Cody Reed, who were left in Triple-A. While Stephenson sports a nice 0.69 ERA in three starts since being sent down, he’s walked 10 batters in 13 innings. Reed is 2-4 with a 2.36 ERA in nine starts with the Bats but has walked 28 batters in 49 2/3 innings.

“We sent Cody and Robert down to Triple-A to really focus on repeating their delivery,” Price said. “I think this isn't so much a direct message to those guys, as it is really wanting them to settle in there and let them get on a really nice roll before (a recall) — it doesn't mean if you throw two or three good ballgames and that means you're ready to come back. I think we really want them to cement their deliveries, nail their deliveries and have a string of outings where they're really on top of their game and they're just way better than the league.”

Tyler Mahle, Castillo’s teammate in Pensacola, is 7-3 with a 1.59 ERA and has walked just 17 batters in 85 innings this season but isn’t on the team’s 40-man roster.

“We don’t expect these guys to come up and be world beaters,” Price said. “We just want them to compete in the strike zone so we can kind of teach them maybe situational pitching and make the tweaks that we need to, to take away some of the vulnerabilities that you typically see in young pitchers. You have to pitch ahead, throw it over the plate and let your defense work. If competing in the zone is a problem, you’re not ready.”

Right-hander Homer Bailey is scheduled to throw a bullpen for Triple-A Louisville on Wednesday. If all goes well, he’ll start in Washington on Saturday with Scott Feldman to follow on Sunday.